


everything is blue

by sunshinejoon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Keith is a book nerd, M/M, there is dog, they're both kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 05:38:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13288131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinejoon/pseuds/sunshinejoon
Summary: Keith likes books -- and also dogs.He just happens to run into one that actually likes him back -- and the cute boy who ran across town to chase after it.





	everything is blue

"Just these?" the long-featured lady asks, face perfectly stoic as she pushes the small, round glasses on her nose further up her face. Keith nods a little in reply, huffing as he heaves the mini pile of books onto the front desk, having to edge the first few with his elbow.

"These are due on the 22th of June." the librarian says in the same monotone voice, stacking the scanned books back up atop of each other. The boy nods once more, shaking his head of dark hair once more.

The library was his favourite place in the world. Not even his warm, newfound family could beat that. It wasn't even just because of the air conditioning or the omnipresent wifi connection -- for the books were his favourite part, after all.

Today, he checks out the last installment of his favourite fantasy series, two sci-fi novels, and another three books on space and all the ins and outs of it.

Now, he gathers the books up within his two lanky and pale-skinned arms, dumping the first five into his black, tattered backpack. With a muttered "thank you" to which the librarian lady doesn't seem to hear, he hugs the last book to his chest, the book he'd been waiting for since, like, forever -- he makes his way out of the library, into the warm summer sun.

He's already feeling the prickling heat on his neck as he hops down the small flight of steps in front of the library, scuffed sneakers hitting pebbled tiles. Turning left, he's quickly met with the merciful shade of his favourite tree -- the one standing by the second window of the public library, in all it's yellow-green and oak glory.

Coming to a stop underneath it, he rests an open palm on the rough, untamed surface of it's trunk in a silent greeting. (No matter how weird he could be sometimes, Keith'd never talk to a tree. Not even if he were alone, because he'd feel silly and he hates feeling silly.)

It's weathered-down yet freshly-sprouted leaves rustle in the wind, a soft whisper of a hello as Keith sets his now-heavy backpack down on the grass, before he himself settles down beneath it's old, winding roots that curve around his legs like gentle, welcoming arms.

He flips the fresh, new cover of the book excitedly, smoothing it down, getting a whiff of the smell of new book, finger pads running over the solid black writing.

He's made it through only half a chapter when it happens.

He can feel the cold blast of air conditioning every time a stranger enters the library, it's big glass doors sliding open automatically and relieving Keith of the humid, warm summer air he sits in. His nose is already buried deep into his book, mind wrapped around the fast-paced story, when he sees a flash of gold-brown in the corner of his eye.

And then he feels it, pressed up by his right thigh, something big, and furry, and --

He jumps, head hitting the hard tree trunk behind him with a yelp. His book drops into his lap, page unfortunately unmarked, but it's the last thing he's worrying about right now -- because there's a dog, right in front of him and already halfway into his lap, mouth left open and tongue hanging out, black eyes squinting underneath a heap of golden brown fur.

There's a moment of silence, Keith not daring to move and the golden retriever letting out small pants, slobbering into the fabric of his jeans.

Rubbing the already-forming bump on the back of his head, he extends a hand towards it, both cautiously and curiously. He'd never encountered many dogs -- or animals, generally -- ever. Between being shuttled around different foster families and schools, he'd never really had the chance to have pets. But, he does love dogs like any other kid his age -- and this one in particular seems to like him back.

"Hey, little guy." he murmurs, chuckling a little as the dog bounds forward, further into his personal space, head pushing against Keith's extended palm. He gives it a little scratch on the head, blunt nails smoothing down it's surprisingly smooth fur.

Grabbing the book from his lap and haphazardly setting it down somewhere next to him, he lets the curious golden retriever clamber into his lap, the corners of it's soft mouth seeming to curve upwards in an almost-smile, allowing the boy to pet it properly, fizzing in quiet excitement, not wanting to scare his newfound friend away.

"Where do you come from, then?" he questions, the smile on his face widening subconsciously, dark eyes squinting up, cresent-shaped dimples digging into his cheeks. The dog barks in reply, a sound that startles the boy but makes him let out a string of laughter.

Right hand still carding through the golden-brown fur, he checks the jingling tag around its neck with his left, now learning that it is really a she named Blue.

Blue's now stretching her long legs over his thighs, nose poking down to sniff at his book whilst Keith smiles giddily and ruffles the fur around her ears. Glancing around, there's not anyone in sight that looks like they could own a dog -- definitely not the cranky old lady tending to her plants across the street.

His unspoken question gets answered quickly, however, when a tan boy with chocolate-brown hair and sea-blue eyes comes racing down the pavement. Literally, racing -- he's really, really fast, and he looks a little frantic, turning in 360 circles as if he's looking for something, or someone.

When he sees Keith -- or rather, the dog in his lap, he stops abruptly in front of them, face melting into a relieved laugh as he leans down to rest his palms on his knees, breathing hard.

"So Blue found you, then." he pants, lips upturning in a too-bright grin, sweat-matted hair falling into his eyes. Keith's hand withdraws from the dog's back, the latter immediately turning to look at him lazily, as if asking why he'd stop petting her.

"Sorry." he yelps, scrambling for an apology. "She just came up to me and --"

"Started attacking you with kisses? Yeah, sounds like her." said boy laughs, trampling onto the grass with his worn-in converses, plopping down next to him under the tree before Keith can even react. Blue clambers over his lap, now lapping happily at her owner's face, golden-brown tail flopping left and right rapidly.

"Does she do this often?" Keith finds himself trying to continue the conversation, much to his own surprise and hesitation. "I mean -- run away, or something?"

"It's happened a couple times." the tan boy replies, cooing as Blue settles down in his lap, almost engulfing him with her sheer size. "She never goes far, though. She's too old to run off anywhere -- she does like cuddling up to random strangers, though."

Keith's face wrinkles up with his amused smile, extending his legs out once more over the soft grass, lifting a hand to card his fingers through the golden retriever's silky fur once more.

"Sounds like a lot of trouble."

"She can be, sometimes. I love her, though, so that's okay." the other replies, eyebrows quirking with his grin. "I'm Lance."

"Keith." Keith says, a little startled and suddenly remembering that he's here, with a random boy and his dog, sitting under a tree outside of the public library in mid-July. He's nervous all of a sudden, hoping he doesn't say the wrong thing and scare this almost-friend away. (He has a tendency to do that sometimes.)

"I like your mullet." Lance adds cheerfully, turning to glance at him, shockingly-blue eyes twinkling under the sun.

"It's not a mullet." Keith shoots back, mumbling as he tugs on the split ends of his tangled hair hesitantly. He hears Lance laugh once more, and looks up again.

"Well, Keith, mullet boy, I like your hair." he says, as if it's something he's decided firmly on. A heat crawls up the back of Keith's neck, and he finds a small but genuine smile creeping up his cheeks.

He watches Lance fish a blue leash out of his pocket, humming as he clips it onto Blue's equally-blue collar. "There. Now you won't get away." he huffs, shooting the dog a glare, until she tilts his head, tail still wagging rhythmically, and it melts into a fond smile.

Keith watches this all with one of his own, something inside of him wishing for something like this. A friend -- one that would run around town to find him when he ran away, one that he could sit under trees and laugh with.

(Really, the only people who would come looking for him whenever he ran away from one of his many foster homes were the social workers, and they definitely weren't anything like friends.)

"Well --" Lance starts, pushing himself to his feet, jiggling Blue's leash with a grin that makes the corner of his eyes crinkle up. "We'd better go now. This girlie's supposed to be on a walk." he throws Blue a look, to which she only woofs and wags her tail.

"Oh." Keith can't help but deflate a little in disappointment, starting to pick up his book again. "Bye, then." 

When Lance doesn't leave immediately, still standing on the grass and watching him with this odd expression on his face, his eyebrows knit into a confused frown. 

"What?"

"Do you come to the library a lot?" the tan boy asks, ignoring his bewildered look. 

"I guess I do." Keith pauses with his book in his lap, flipped back to the page he'd left off on. 

"Okay. Neat." Lance's face breaks out into a bright grin once more, fingers curling around Blue's leash. "Well, see you around then, mullet boy."

Blue woofs, tail wagging at full speed and never seeming to slow down. Keith can't help but smile a little again, lifting a hand awkwardly to wave at the two of them.

"Bye, Keith." Lance's voice is clear in the warm summer air, blue eyes prominent against the greyscale town behind him.

Keith watches the two lumber down the other way, Blue's tail still wagging slowly behind her, Lance pausing to kick at a pebble and turning around to throw an arm above his head in a wave.

The dark-haired boy finds himself waving back, a dimple-inducing smile spread across reddened cheeks.


End file.
